A Girl and an Emperor
by empressmargaretta
Summary: Just a bunch of one-shots about Nash and Iris and they're lives; set after the series.
1. Dancing and the Dreaming

**All the chapters of this story will be one-shots with Shark and Iris. It might be a bit sappy at times, but I hope you enjoy it anyway. I don't own "For the Dancing and the Dreaming." It belongs to the producers of** _ **How to Train you Dragon 2.**_ **I know the original song is about marriage, but I changed it a bit to fit Iris and Shark.**

 _Iris ran down the battlefield, searching frantically for the Emperor. She had to find him. She couldn't lose him, not the way she'd lost her parents. All around her, men were falling and dying, but she forced herself to ignore the cries of agony. She pushed her way through the crowds of soldiers and, narrowly avoiding arrows charging at her, managed to reach a small opening in the fighting, where she saw-_

 _No! It was the Emperor, crumpled at the feet of the orange-haired man that had sliced her father's head off and then stabbed her mother through the heart._

" _Your majesty!" Iris cried out, running to him. She knelt by his side and shook him, tears running down her cheeks. "Your majesty, don't leave me. Please don't leave me! Please-" Iris cut off short when she turned the Emperor to face her. His eyes were blank and staring. It was the stare of death. Her father's eyes had had the same glossy look when his head had rolled out in front of her._

" _No…" Iris whimpered._

 _The man with the orange hair laughed wildly. "What's the matter, little girl? Was this loser a friend of yours?"_

 _The evil ruler laughed, his eyes glowing with insanity. Iris stared back at him, this man who had taken everything from her… and screamed._

Iris Kastle surged forward in bed, another scream escaping her throat before she could stop it. Trembling, she looked around herself. She was in her room at home. Her doll, the one she slept with, had been thrown to the floor during the nightmare. Iris hugged her knees and tried to calm her breathing. Her pajamas were damp and clinging to her shaking body.

The small girl heard footsteps approaching at a rapid pace. Her bedroom door was flung open and her room flooded with light. Blinking in the sudden harsh brightness, Iris made out the form of the Emperor standing in the doorway.

"Your majesty…" Iris said weekly.

"Iris!" The young man swept across the room to her bed, and in a moment Iris found herself curled up in protective arms.

"Another nightmare?" Nash asked, running his hands through the girl's hair.

Iris nodded. "It was the war again. And…and…" a choked sob escaped her.

"You don't have to tell me, Iris," the former ruler said gently. Iris buried her head in his chest. He smelled nice, just like he always did.

15 minutes passed, and Nash rocked Iris gently assuring her that everything was going to be alright, but the youngest member of the extended Kastle family couldn't seem to fall back asleep.

"You won't ever leave me, will you, your majesty?" Iris asked.

"Never," he said, drawing her closer. Iris knew he would never leave her, but it was comforting to hear him say it anyway.

"Can we sing our song, you majesty?"

Nash frowned. "What song?"

"You know- the one about dancing and dreaming." Nash stared at her blankly. At first Iris was puzzled, but then she realized that the Emperor must not remember the days in the army camp, when he had come into her tent and sung the lullaby to her. "Oh- you don't remember, do you?"

Nash shook his head. "I'm sorry, Iris."

The girl shrugged. "It's okay. You would sing to me, and then I would sing back, so I only know part of it anyway. I'll just hum the tune." Iris began to hum, relaxing her grip on Nash's bathrobe a bit. As he listened to the tune, it began to seem more and more familiar. Words began to appear in his mind. Then, when Iris took a breath, he began to sing. The words came back to him as he sang, an old memory being unearthed:

 _I'll swim and sail on savage seas_

 _With ne'er a fear of drowning_

 _And gladly ride the waves of life_

 _As long as you're beside me_

 _No scorching sun, nor freezing cold_

 _Will stop me on my journey_

 _If you will promise with your heart_

His memory failed him. What was the next line? Smiling, Iris filled it in for him, her sweet voice filling the room with the melody:

 _To stay for eternity_

She then began to sing the part that Nash had taught her all those years ago, the second part of the duet:

 _My dearest one, my darling dear,_

 _Your mighty words astound me_

 _But I've no need of mighty deeds_

 _When I feel your arms around me_

Grinning, Nash began his part again:

 _But I would bring you rings of gold_

 _And even sing you poetry_

 _And I will keep you from all harm_

 _As long as you're beside me_

Then it was Iris's part again:

 _I'll have no use for rings of gold,_

 _I care not for your poetry_

 _I only want your hand to hold_

 _I only want you near me_

Then the two voices, Nash's rich baritone and Iris's melodic soprano, joined together for the final verse:

 _To love, to keep, and sweetly hold_

 _For the dancing and the dreaming_

 _Through all life's sorrows and delights_

 _I'll keep you safe beside me_

Smiling up at the Emperor, Iris yawned. Nash began to sing more softly as he lowered the girl back into her sheets and tucked her in:

 _I'll swim and sail on savage seas_

 _With ne'er a fear of drowning_

 _And gladly ride the waves of life_

 _As long as you're beside me_

Nash leaned over and gave the child a kiss on the forehead, before quietly getting up and slipping out of the room.

He was met by his younger sister, Rio, smirking at him. "You never told me you could sing so well, dear brother."

Shark huffed. "I never had any reason to tell you."

"Oh. Well, now that I know all about your secret talent, I think you should give a concert."

"No."

"We could invite all your friends from school-"

"No!"

"-and even provide refreshments."

" _NO!_ "

"We could make a party out of it!"

"I swear, Rio, you say _one_ word to _anyone_ and I'll-"

"Relax, Reginald, I'm only teasing. It's sweet of you to take care of Iris so well." Rio said sincerely.

"Yeah, well, it's late and we should get to bed," Shark said gruffly, before stalking down the hallway to his room. Rio shook her head. Her brother would never change.


	2. Spin Art

**Well everyone, here is the second chapter. I got the idea when I went to a fair this past weekend and made some Spin Art.**

"Have you ever been to a fair, Iris?" Nash asked.

Iris looked up at him curiously. "What's a fair, your majesty?"

"It's like a large party where people can play games, make arts and crafts, and get food."

"Oh. It sounds like the village bazaar we used to have every year when the merchants would come."

"It's sort of like a bazaar, I suppose. Do you want to go?"

Iris though it over for a moment. She had enjoyed the village bazaars, from what she could remember, and with the Emperor, she would be perfectly safe. "Alright. As long as it's not too much trouble."

"It's no trouble, Iris." Nash smiled tenderly down at the girl. She was always anxious to make sure she wasn't a bother to anyone.

At first, Iris was frightened by the large crowds and stuck close to Nash's side. Not even the village bazaar had ever been this crowded- and they hadn't had all these large, noisy machines either.

"They're just rides, Iris," Nash told the young girl, hoping to calm her fear. "They're supposed to be fun." Iris, however, was not convinced, and so Nash took her to the quieter part of the fair where the games and arts and crafts were. Iris's interest was peaked, but she was too shy to request something of the Emperor.

"Here's something you might like," he said, leading her over to a place people were standing in line in front of a metal box. The person currently at the box was pouring red paint into it. Iris looked up at Nash in bewilderment.

"It's Spin Art," he explained. "You put a piece of paper in the spinner, and while it spins very fast, you pour paint in though the slot. It makes a colorful picture."

Iris was fascinated. "Can I-" she looked up at him hopefully. "Can I try it?"

"Of course you can." The two of them approached the stand where the unpainted pieces of paper were. "How much?" the Emperor asked. Iris gripped his hand tighter. She didn't want to cost him a lot of money.

"Six tickets," the lady behind the counter said. Iris frowned. Tickets? Did his majesty even have some of this currency?

To the girl's very great relief, the Emperor was well prepared and promptly held out a string of 6 paper squares, all attached to each other.

The woman behind the counter accepted the payment, took a white piece of paper from the stacks behind her, and handed it to Iris.

They had to wait in line for a while, but eventually it was Iris's turn to put her paper into the strange box. The girl behind the machine closed the lid and started up the spinner. Iris stared at her blank piece of paper through the glass. It was going so fast that it looked circular.

"Go on, Iris," Nash whispered from behind her. "Pour some paint in." Iris looked at the assortment of colors. There were so many… how could she choose? She looked around for some help. Her gaze landed on the Emperor beside her, who by this time was looking a little worried, and was suddenly struck with inspiration. She reached for her first bottle of paint.

The rest of the day passed quickly. They had to give the Spin Art time to dry, so Nash took her around the rest of the fair. They played several games, including one-on-one floor hockey, which Iris won. (She was suspicious that the Emperor had let her, but he had acted so embarrassed about losing to a little girl that she didn't bring it up.) They had hotdogs and soda for lunch, and then for the first time, Iris got to try ice cream and cotton candy. She wondered later how she had ever gotten on without them.

Towards the end of the day, Iris felt brave enough to try one of the rides. They decided on the mini-Ferris Wheel. At first Iris was nervous about falling out, but eventually she grew to enjoy herself. She enjoyed herself so much that she asked the Emperor to take her again, which he did.

Finally, they returned to the Spin Art stand to collect Iris's art work. As she looked at her final product, Iris beamed with happiness. It was perfect. First, there was a ring of ocean blue, then one of purple, then one of navy blue, and the center of the page was gold. Proudly, Iris presented the picture to Nash.

"This is very good, Iris," Nash told her as they walked out of the fair. "What made you choose these colors?"

"You don't know?"

"Should I?"

"The ocean blue is for your eyes," Iris said, ticking it off on her fingers, "The purple is for your hair, the royal blue is because you're royal, and the gold is for your golden heart."

Nash looked down at the little girl he cared about so much, eyes moist. "So, this is a picture of me?"

"I-in a way, yes. Do you like it?"

Nash knelt down to the girl's level. "Iris, it's perfect."


	3. The Locket

**Here's the next chapter. Sorry for the wait. I hope to get four chapters, including this one, out this week.**

 **I got the idea for this from a scene in the old** _ **Annie**_ **film**

"Marin?" Nash's voice called, echoing through the Kastle mansion.

"In the kitchen, dear brother!" Marin called back. Closing the front door behind him, Nash went to find his sister- and the source of the delicious smell wafting through the halls.

"What's that smell?" he asked as he walked into the room.

"It's a new rib recipe I'm trying out," Alito said, popping up from behind the counter in the middle of the room. Alito was surprisingly an excellent cook, which was more than Marin could say. The only decent thing she could make was Mac and Cheese.

"Smells good," Nash told him. "Marin, where's Iris? I want to give her something."

"She's at karate practice."

"Oh- she's WHAT!?"

Marin got up from her seat and went to get a glass of the cupboard. "Kite called today and said-"

"Whoa, hold on! Aren't you going to explain why Iris is taking karate?"

"I am explaining it to you," Marin said impatiently, selecting a glass and filling it with water from a pitcher on the counter. "Kite called today and said that Hart is taking karate at a local community center- so he can protect himself in a fight- and he wanted to know if Iris would like lessons too. Hart would be more comfortable with a friend, he said. I asked Iris and she said yes. That's all there is to it."

"Why do nine-year-olds need to know how to do karate?"

"I guess it was Kite's idea of ensuring Hart's safety- considering what happened with Vetrix- but I don't think Iris went to learn how to fight. I think she just went to support Hart."

"I hope you're right," Nash sighed, helping himself to his own glass of water. Shortly, there was the sound of a motorcycle entering the Kastle's front yard.

"That must be them," Marin said. She and Nash went to the front door, curious as to what they would find there.

"You're majesty!" Iris's voice called, sounding muffled. The little girl pulled off the helmet that Hart had lent her and slid off the motorbike. She ran to Nash and attached herself to his leg. "I missed you, you're majesty."

"Well, I missed you too." Nash said. He turned to Kite, "Thanks for taking her along."

"Hart enjoyed having her along. Didn't you, Hart?"

"Yes. Thankyou for coming, Iris. Goodbye."

"Goodbye Hart. You're welcome. Oh, goodbye Mr. Kite." 

"Goodbye Iris. Rio. Shark." Kite nodded to each of them in turn before zooming out the front gate.

"We have got to stop leaving that thing open," Shark muttered as they headed inside

"Your majesty, guess what I learned today?" Iris asked excitedly once they were in the living room.

"What?"

"This! Hi-yah!" Iris shouted, before landing a stunning blow to Nash's shin.

"Ahh!" The former emperor was knocked clear off his feet. Both Marin and Iris gasped.

"Gosh, I'm sorry, your majesty," Iris said, eyes wide. "I didn't think it would work."

"Yes, well, now you know it does," Nash said as Marin helped him to his feet.

"You should probably sit down," Marin told him, seeing that his face had gone white.

"Good idea," Nash said hobbling over to the couch. When the color did not immediately return to his face, Marin had him elevate his leg before going into the kitchen to fetch an ice pack.

"Will you be alright, your majesty?" Iris asked, peering up at him with concern.

"Yes, I'll be fine. Iris, there's something I want to- oh, thanks sis." Nash said as his twin returned with the ice pack and placed it on his leg. After shifting around a bit, he continued, "Iris, you're like family to me, just like all the other Emperors, but you're also… well, you helped me get through some of the toughest times in my life." He paused, remembering the horrible war all those centuries ago. "Anyway," he said, clearing his throat. "I wanted to give you… that is…well, here." Nash took a small jewelry box from his pocket and handed it to the small girl. Gently, as if she feared she would break the small gift, Iris opened the box.

"Oh, your majesty!" she gasped. "It's beautiful." Iris pulled out a shark-tooth shaped locket, hanging on a delicate silver chain. Iris turned to the person she loved most in the world, beaming. "It's just like yours, isn't it?" she asked, holding up the gleaming fang to compare it to Shark's older one.

Nash nodded. "Yes. I thought it was about time you had something nice to wear- plus it's a locket, so you can put something in it."

Carefully, Iris opened the locket to reveal its empty interior. "I know just what to put in it," She said. "I'm going to put a small version of a picture of you and me in it, Nash."

The Barian King looked at her in surprise. "Iris, you-"

Iris smiled at him. "Well, we are family now. Will you put it around my neck?" While she stood very still, Shark clasped the delicate chain around Iris's throat. He had gotten the locket on a chain rather than on a cord like his to add a more feminine touch to it.

After the youngest member of the new family had run off to look at herself in the mirror, Marin turned to her brother. "How's your leg?"

Nash groaned. "I think I'm going to have a large bruise there for a long time."


	4. I Can Do Anything, part 1

**Here's chapter 4! It's based after a famous** _ **Madeleine**_ **story. It will be written in two parts. Enjoy.**

Nash was usually a deep sleeper, and because the trouble was in the wing of the house where the girls slept, there was no chance that he had heard anything, so the only thing that could attribute to his waking up that night was brotherly instinct.

He sat up in bed and turned on his light. "Something," he said to himself, "Is not right." He threw back his covers and slid on his bathrobe and slippers before racing down the hall to the opposite wing of the house, where his sisters slept.

Awoken by his King's hurried departure, Dumon came to his bedroom door in time to see Nash rushing past. "What is it Nash?"

"Something's not right, Dumon! I'm going to check on Iris and Marin." Dumon hurriedly put on his own bathrobe and slippers and followed suit.

As they neared Iris's room, Nash could hear muffled sobs from behind the door. He threw it open to see Iris in bed, clutching her stomach, her face red with tears and fever. Marin was sitting next to her, trying to get her to drink a glass of water. She looked up when light flooded the bedroom.

"Nash!"

"What's wrong, Marin?" 

"I don't know! She says her stomach hurts. She's got a high fever, too…"

Nash rushed to the girl's side and pressed his hand against Iris's forehead. It burned his hand.

"It hurts, Nash," Iris whimpered.

"What does?"

"My tummy…ow, ow…"

"Here, Iris," Nash said, pulling back the girl's covers and pressing the glass of water to her lips, "Drink."

Trembling, Iris managed to sit up and take a sip before collapsing back onto her pillows.

"Marin, get me a cold wash cloth," Nash said, grasping Iris's hand. "Dumon, call the hospital and tell them to send an ambulance."

"An ambulance, my King? Is it serious?"

"I don't know; I'm hoping the doctors will be able to tell me." Dumon turned and ran out of the room, almost tripping over Alito and Girag as they came in.

"What's going on, Nash?" Alito asked. "Is Iris sick?"

"Yes."

"Is it bad? Is it deadly? Is it contagious?"

"No!"

"If it is deadly and contagious, we're all going to die!"

"No one is going to die!" Nash snapped. He lowered his voice. "Shhh, Iris, everything is going to be fine," Nash told her, squeezing her hand and wiping the sweat from her forehead with the washcloth Marin had given him.

"It hurts so much…" 

"I know, sweetheart I know," the former Emperor murmured, stroking the girl's hair.

Dumon came rushing back upstairs. "The ambulance is on its way."

"Alright. Girag, go down stairs and wait for them. When they arrive bring them up here."

"Okay Nash," Girag said, before heading downstairs.

It was not long until the ambulance and the paramedics arrived. Girag showed them upstairs, ignoring their looks at Ponta, who was riding on his shoulder, as usual. After examining Iris, they got her onto the stretcher and began carrying her downstairs.

Iris was terrified. Who were these strange men? Why did her stomach hurt so much? If it wasn't for Nash's constant assurances that she would be alright, Iris would have started screaming. She put her hand to her throat, feeling for the shark tooth-shaped locket that Nash had given her, but to her horror, she felt nothing.

"My locket!" She cried out. "Where's my locket?"

Nash, who was descending the stairs behind the stretcher while at the same time trying to shove his feet into his shoes, turned to look behind him where the others were watching. "Mizar! Find Iris's locket!"

The galaxy-eyes master turned and dashed back into Iris's room. _Think, Mizar,_ he told himself. _Where would her locket have gone?_ He searched the bedside table and under the bed. Nothing. In a desperate moment of inspiration, he jerked the bedside table away from the bed. Sure enough, there was the silver shark tooth locket.

"Voila!" he cried, snatching it up. Mizar had picked up some French phrases from Dumon, who was taking it in school.

He sped out the door, down the hall, down that stairs, and out the front door. "Nash!" he called out, tossing the locket through the air to him. The ambulance door swung open briefly for Nash to snatch the locket out of the air before it slammed shut and the vehicle took off, sirens blaring.

Inside the ambulance, Nash pressed the locket into Iris's hands before he was pulled aside by one of the paramedics.

"I think we may have to take out her appendix," he said.

"My pendix?!" Iris cried in alarm.

"You'll be fine," Nash told her, grasping her small, trembling hand. "She'll be fine!" he added, whether for the paramedic's benefit or his own, he didn't know.

When they arrived at the hospital, Iris was rushed inside and to the operating room. "Just keep telling yourself, 'I can do anything,'" Nash told her. "You're a Kastle now, remember? 'I can do anything….'"

"I can do anything," Iris repeated. "I can do anything. Owww, oh, owwww…" Suddenly, Iris realized that her brother was no longer above her. "NASH!" she cried out desperately.

"I'll be right out here, Iris!" she heard him call to her. "Right here…"

Then Iris was raced into the operating room, and she was placed under anesthesia. As she lost consciousness, she kept reminding herself, _I can do anything…_


	5. I Can Do Anything, part 2

**Here's the thrilling conclusion to Iris's trip to the hospital. Write to me!**

"I'm telling you we should get a variety of flowers! If we all get her irises, it's not going to be very colorful, is it?"

"But what else should I get her?"

"Use your imagination, Girag!"

Ray snorted. "You know Girag doesn't have any imagination, Alito."

"That's not true! He-"

"Alito, Ray- please stop fighting. Everyone just pick a flower for Iris. Don't worry about what other people choose." Nash said. He was beginning to get a headache. They had been here at the flower shop for about half an hour already.

It had been several days since the operation. This Saturday was the only time that everyone could go to visit her together. It had been Marin's idea to get Iris a bouquet, with one flower from each of her family members. Nash had already selected a white lily which he thought Iris would like. Marin and Ray had both chosen roses- only Marin's was white and Ray's was red.

Ray liked red roses. They reminded him of himself. Ray had chosen to change his name because of something Yuma had told him- _my friend Ray- that was the real Vector!_ He had decided he liked roses because it turned out there were some living in the Kastle's front yard. Dumon had wanted to have them removed- because at the time they had only been prickly thorn bushes. Ray, however, had insisted that just because they were thorny did not mean they didn't have just as much a right to live as much as the other plants. Nash had allowed Ray to have his way- on the condition that he take care of the thorn bushes himself. Ray had done it diligently, surprising everyone.

Later, after the beautiful red flowers had bloomed in all their glory, Ray had told Nash,

 _After the second chance Yuma gave me, I couldn't watch Dumon kill those plants. It's too bad I didn't turn out as great as those roses._

Nash would never have guessed that Ray was capable of such deep thought if he hadn't heard it with his own ears.

Finally, at Dumon's suggestion, he, Alito, and Girag all got Iris different color irises. So, the bouquet consisted of a white lily, two roses, one red and one white, one fiery snapdragon (you can guess who selected that one), three irises: and one white (from Dumon), one blue (from Alito) and one purple (from Girag); as well as extensive greenery from Ponta.

Nash paid for the flowers, which were elegantly wrapped in paper and tied with a pink ribbon by the salesman. The group then headed to the hospital. They had decided to walk there, because there wasn't really any safe way you could carry flowers on a motorbike.

"Now, remember," Nash told his family in a whisper outside Iris's room. "She'll be tired, so don't press her with a lot of questions." When everyone nodded in understanding, Nash opened the door and the seven of them slipped in. "Hell, Iris" Nash said quietly, pulling over a chair to sit beside her bed.

"Hello, Nash," Iris said, smiling at him. She shifted and tried to sit up, but was only able to do so when Nash helped her.

"I hope they've been giving you a lot of ice cream," Nash told her.

"They have. What's Girag hiding behind his back?" The girl was incredibly observant.

"It's some flowers for you, Iris," Girag said proudly, presenting the bouquet to her .

"Oh! They're lovely! Thank you, everyone."

A chorus of "you're welcomes" filled the room, before everything became quiet again.

"So, uh," Ray said after the silence had dragged on for too long. "How was the operation?" Mizar shot him a look, but Iris smiled at him in relief.

"I was unconscious, but the nurses told me what happened. They cut me open and pulled out some of my guts!"

Everyone, except for Nash and Marin, stared at Iris in horrid fascination. Ray looked sick- he was very averse to any mention of blood and gore. "You mean…" Alito said, "They… took away some of your insides?"

Iris nodded. "But," she said, "Look what they gave me, in exchange for my appendix." Iris got up and stood on her bed. Then, grinning, she pulled her nightgown up to show her brothers and sister her stomach.

Gasps filled the room. Nash rolled his eyes. On the side of Iris's stomach was a large scar. Mizar looked bug-eyed. Ray started gagging

"Wow!" Alito whistled. "That looks bigger than any scar I ever saw in the arena!"

Nash could see that he was going to get a lot of questions once they left the hospital room.


	6. Jewel, part 1

**Well, here's the chapter that was supposed to have come out last week. I've run out of ideas for this story. I'd appreciate suggestions!**

 **I got the idea for this story from** _ **Air Bud**_ **and** _ **Madeleine.**_ **Enjoy!**

"I'll be alright, Nash, really," Iris assured him for the thousandth time. She'd been home from the hospital for a while- almost a week- but she still wasn't feeling one hundred percent. Unfortunately, that particular day, _everyone_ had somewhere to be. Nash had made an appointment to visit a local orphanage, Marin had promised Quattro and Trey a soccer lesson, Alito had a boxing match, Girag was helping Roku clean out his duel sanctuary, Ray had an acting class, Dumon had a job as an assistant librarian, and Mizar (of all people) had an art class. Of course, it was a purely _animal_ art class- Mizar was going to learn how to draw dragons if it killed him.

So, Iris was going to be left alone all day. That is, she _was_ going to be all alone, until Yuma's grandmother had offered to come over and be on hand just in case Iris needed anything. Of course that didn't stop Nash from worrying.

"I don't want your day to be ruined because of me," Iris told him. "Now, please, go have fun."

"That's right, Shark," Haru told him. "Those kids are looking forward to your visit. You don't want to disappoint them."

"Right," Shark sighed. "Goodbye, Iris," he said, leaning down and planting a kiss on her forehead.

"Goodbye, Nash. And don't worry. I'll be fine." Finally, Nash left, dashing to his motorbike between droplets of rain.

"Now," said Haru, "I'm going to get started on lunch."

Iris stared at her. "Lunch? But it's only 10 am!"

Haru winked. "A good lunch takes time to prepare. Besides, you don't mind if we eat a little early, do you? Say, 11:30?"

Iris shook her head. "No, not at all."

"That's settled then. Do you have something to do, or do you want to help me in the kitchen?"

"I have a jigsaw puzzle I'm working on."

"Sounds like fun. Call me if you need anything, dear." With that, Yuma's grandmother disappeared into the kitchen (which was so much bigger than her own), and Iris sat down to work on her puzzle. It was a picture of a field of flowers that Alito had given her, and it had 100 pieces. Iris was very proud that Alito thought she could complete it.

Half an hour passed in peaceful silence. But, then, Iris heard a strange noise from outside. She lifted her head and listened. Hearing nothing, she looked back down at her puzzle. But soon the strange noise came again. It was a funny sounding sneeze, almost, coming from outside.

The third time she heard it, Iris's curiosity got the best of her. She slipped out of the living room and into the front hall, before pulling the large front door open. To her surprise, a large, white cat was sitting outside, filthy and drenched in rain.

"Humph- _cha!_ " the cat said, before leaning down to lick at it right forearm, which Iris now saw was bleeding.

"Oh, poor thing," Iris murmured, reaching out to pet it. The cat sat on the stoop, drooping underneath Iris's gentle touches. Iris considered her options. She couldn't leave the cat out here, but she couldn't bring it inside either. Marin hated cats, and she was sure to be freaked out especially by this one, since it was so big.

After a while of debating with herself, Iris decided that she would bring the cat inside, clean it up and feed it, and then let it outside again once the rain stopped. Marin would never have to know. Satisfied that this was the right this to do, Iris opened the door wider and encouraged the cat inside. As it walked past her, she saw its long, lean body; its white-and-black striped fur matted and tangled.

Keeping one hand on the poor creature's back, Iris walked it towards the grand staircase. "I'm going to take a bath, Mrs. Tsukamo!" she called into the kitchen.

"Oh- alright, dear. Enjoy yourself."

"I will." As quietly as she could, Iris slipped the cat upstairs and into the large tub in the unused guest room.

"Do you like bubble bath?" Iris asked the cat, turning on the water. Soon, the tub was filled with frothy, pink bubbles and warm water. By this time, because of the cat's slipping about, Iris was soaked. Hitting upon some inspiration, she ran into her own bathroom and got into her swimsuit-it had been a gift from Marin's friend Tori. Then she retrieved an unopened bottle of shampoo from Marin's bathroom and went back to the cat, to find that, in several unsuccessful attempts to escape the slippery tub, it had gotten water everywhere. Sighing at the mess she would have to clean up, Iris went to the linen closet to pick up some towels for later.

As she was getting ready to get in the tub, she spotted an old record player with a stack of records next to it. She remembered the day that they had moved in here; Nash had found the record player and explained to Iris how it worked. Now, the young girl decided that some music would be a good idea, to cover up any noise she might make in the bathroom that would arouse Haru's suspicions. She selected a record and carefully placed it in the player, gently aligning the needle to play the track she wanted.

The song that Iris chose went something like this:

 _Splish Splash, I was takin' a bath_

 _Long about a Saturday night, yeah_

 _Rub-a-dub, just relaxin' in the tub_

 _Thinkin' everything was alright_

 _Well, I stepped out the tub, put my feet on the floor,_

 _I wrapped the towel around me_

 _And I opened the door, and then_

 _Splish, Splash! I jumped back in the bath_

 _Well how was I to know there was a party going on_

 _They was a-splishin' and a-splashin',_

 _Reelin' with the feelin', moving and a-groovin,_

 _Rockin' and a-rollin', yeah!_

 _Bing bang, I saw the whole gang_

 _Dancing on my living room rug, yeah!_

 _Flip flop, they was doing the bop_

 _All the teens had the dancin bug_

 _There was lollipop with-a Peggy Sue_

 _Good Golly, Miss Molly was-a even there, too!_

 _A-well-a, Splish Splash, I forgot about the bath_

 _I went and put my dancin shoes on, yeah..._

 _I was a rollin' and a strollin', reelin' with the feelin',_

 _Movin and a groovin', splishin' and a splashin, yeah!_

 _Yes, I was a-splishin' and a splashin'_

 _I was a-rollin' and a-strollin'_

 _Yeah, I was a-movin' and a-groovin'... Woo!_

 _We was a-reelin' with the feelin'.. Ha!_

 _We was a-rollin' and a-strollin'_

 _Movin with the groovin'_

 _Splish splash, yeah!_

 _I was a-splishin' and a splashin' one time_

 _I was a-splishin' and a splashin'.. Woo-woo!_

 _I was a-movin' and a-groovin'..._

In the time it took to play the song about 35 times, Iris had bathed her guest, brushed its teeth, blow-dried it with Marin's hair-dryer, bandaged its wounds as best she could, cleaned up the bathroom, changed her clothes, and made everything look as it had before.

After hiding the cat in her bedroom, Iris slipped downstairs to enjoy Haru Tsukamo's famous cooking.

It wasn't until that night at dinner that the large striped cat decided it had had enough of being shut up in a little girl's room. So, it chewed its way out and went downstairs to find out what the humans were eating for dinner.

Marin happened to sit at the foot of the dining room table and was therefore the first to see the unwelcome dinner guest. She shrieked and literally leapt onto the kitchen, screaming, over and over again, "Tiger! Tiger! Reginald, it's a HUGE TIGER! Tiger!..."

There was a great deal of confusion as several of the ex-Barians tried to calm Marin down, and several others tried to chase down the tiger, and Iris was yelling above it all that the cat wasn't vicious, and of course Marin was still screaming, so it was quite some time before Iris managed to tell the others what had happened. By that point, the tiger had been shut up in the kitchen with a chunk of Ray's pot roast (I didn't make it for tigers, he grumbled), and Marin had calmed down considerably.

Faced for the first time in her life with an agitated, to say the least, Nash, Iris told how she had brought the cat into the house and cleaned it up.

"It was obviously in pain, your majesty, and I just had to help it. I didn't realize it was a tiger; I thought it was just a large cat! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"It's alright, Iris," Nash said, running a hand through his hair. "We'll just call an animal shelter and ask them to send someone over."

So, Iris went to bed that night feeling terrible about scaring Marin and wondering what would happen to her new friend. She tossed and turned all night, unable to fall asleep for the first time in quite a while.


	7. Jewel, part 2

**Sorry this took a while! I've been really swamped and overwhelmed lately. I hope I'll be able to get future chapters out in even intervals.**

When Iris awoke the next morning, a heavy cloud of dread settled over her. She descended the stairs slowly, the smell of coffee telling her that at least Dumon was awake. As she approached the kitchen she could hear Nash's and Marin's voices as well, murmuring. Curiosity getting the best of her, Iris peered into the kitchen and was startled by what she saw.

Dumon, Marin and Nash were sitting at the kitchen table- Dumon with a cup of coffee- leaning over something that Iris couldn't see. At Marin's feet was the tiger, licking her hand, which was hanging down. And Marin wasn't even scared! The large white cat's injured leg was wrapped in new bandages, and Ray was sitting quietly on the floor next to it stroking it behind the ears.

Iris stared. What in the world…?

Nash looked up and saw her. "Iris, come on in," he said, smiling warmly at her. Encouraged by this, Iris stepped into the room.

Hearing her movement, the tiger raised its head and fixed its golden eyes on her. Then, in a swift and graceful movement, the cat was up on its three good paws and crossing to her, sniffing her and licking her face and hands.

"She seems to like you, Iris," Dumon said, taking a sip from his mug.

"She?"

"Yes," Nash said. "It's a very interesting story. Huntress here was captured from the wild when she was just a kitten. She was illegally shipped out of India- she's a white Bengal Tiger, by the way. A lot of people think white tigers are a different species than orange ones, but it's actually the result of a genetic mutation."

Marin rolled her eyes. "Anyway," she said, "Huntress has been part of a circus for the past two years. They didn't treat her well. In fact, her injured leg is the result of a trainer being brutal with her."

"Oh!" Iris gasped, patting Huntress sympathetically. "Poor girl."

Dumon nodded in agreement. "Two days ago, her trainer didn't lock her cage properly, and she got out. The circus called the Exotic Animal Bureau, which was a mistake. The representatives conducted an investigation and discovered that Huntress had been shipped in illegally and about the abuse. Huntress's former owners have all been arrested."

"Here that, girl?" Iris asked. "Those bad men can't hurt you anymore." A low, rumbling sound came from Huntress's throat. Iris jumped back.

"Don't worry, Iris," Nash said, "She's just purring."

"Oh, I- I knew that," Iris stammered, reaching out again to stroke the giant cat's neck.

"You think she's scary now, just wait until she's fully grown. The Exotic Animal Bureau- whom we called last night- told us Huntress will grow twice this size by the time she's 3 years old." Nash laughed at Iris's bug-eyes look.

"Well, what's going to happen to her?" the young girl asked.

"That's just it," Ray spoke up. "Nash thinks that we might be able to keep her."

"Really?" Iris asked excitedly.

Nash nodded. "My mother- that is, Victoria Kastle- worked with the Exotic Animal Bureau. She kept several interesting animals here, since this mansion qualifies as exotic animal-friendly. A representative from the EAB is coming later this week to see if we qualify as members and as Huntress's keepers. That's why we're studying this," Nash said, holding up the book that had been on the table when Iris came in.

"Exotic Creature Keeper Guide," Iris read. "Published by the EAB. Cool. Can I help?"

"Sure," Nash said, patting the seat next to him.

"Nash, if we do get to keep her, can we call her something other than 'Huntress?'"

"What would you like to call her?"

"Jewel," Iris said, "Her name is Jewel." The white Bengal Tiger padded over and nuzzled Iris's hand. "See? She likes that idea. Don't you, Jewel?" Jewel purred.


	8. First Day at School

"Nash, what is school, anyway?" Iris asked that morning as she and Shark headed out to walk to school together. Iris had been told she was going to school for several weeks now, but she had simply decided to trust Nash's word that school was a good thing rather than ask him what it was. Until now.

"School is a place where you learn things," Nash said.

"What kinds of things?"

"Oh, all sorts pf things. Reading, writing, math, science, geography, history…"

"Do we get to play games?"

"During recess, probably."

"What's that?"

"It's a time for you to eat lunch and play with your friends. It's a break from learning."

"Oh. What if I don't have any friends to play with?"

"A lot of the kids will probably be nervous, since it's their first day. Just be nice to everyone and make them feel good around you."

"Okay." There was silence for a little while, before Iris said, "Why couldn't Jewel come with me to school?"

"Well, she's getting really big now," Nash explained. In fact, Jewel was almost full grown now. "She might scare some of the smaller kids."

Iris sighed. "I wish she could have come with me."

"You can see her when you get home. Here we are. This is your school, Iris."

Iris looked up at the huge building. It was bigger than any structure she had ever seen before. "Wow." In truth, the Heartland Academy Elementary building was much smaller than the middle school where the rest of the former Barian Emperors went. But to Iris, who had grown up in a one-story hut village, it was gigantic. "What if I get lost?"

"Your teacher will be with you all the time and show you where to go. Come on."

Iris's steps got slower and slower as they approached her classroom- the place where she and Nash would part ways. When they got to the correct room number, Iris saw a tall, thin lady saying hello to other fifth graders coming in. Iris studied them and wondered if she could ever become friends with one of them. It couldn't be too hard, she decided.

"You'll be fine. You can do anything remember?" Nash whispered. Iris gave him a grateful smile before marching off determinedly to meet her teacher.

Everything was fine up until lunch time. Shark had just gotten his lunch out of his locker when an announcement came over the loud speaker.

 _Reginald Kastle to the Vice Principal's office, please. Reginald Kastle, please report to the Vice Principal's office._

Shark stared up at the loud speaker in surprise. Why would the Vice Principal of the school want to see him? On his way to the office, Shark ran over everything in his head that he had done since the end of the interdimensional war. Surely he couldn't be in trouble, right?

Reaching the office, Shark approached the Vice Principal's secretary a small woman doing her make-up in a hand-held mirror. "High, I was called down to-"

"He's in there!" the woman said, jerking a head towards the door behind her.

"Oh. Thanks." Shark cautiously went over and knocked.

"Come in!" boomed a voice from the other side. Taking a deep breath, Shark obeyed.

"Hello, sir. I'm Reginald Kastle. I believe you called for me…"

"Reginald! Of course, of course, come in. I'm Mr. Greezely, by the way," he said, reaching out and shook Shark's hand heartily. "Sit down, sit down."

Shark sat down and tried to relax. Mr. Greezely didn't seem angry with him.

"Now, Reginald, let me get straight to the point. We seem to have a bit of a problem with your sister."

Shark's heart skipped a beat. "Rio?"

"What? Oh, no; Rio is perfectly alright. I was talking about the younger one."

"Iris?" What could sweet, innocent Iris have done to cause trouble?

"Yes. You see- well, maybe I'd better just show you."

The walk across the two campuses took about five minutes, and in all that time, Mr. Greezely wouldn't tell Shark anything more about the trouble Iris was in. "It's too hard to explain," he insisted. "You have to see it for yourself."

Finally, when Shark was about to burst with anticipation, Mr. Greezely took him to the fifth and sixth grade classroom playground, where the children enjoyed their recess.

"See for yourself," he said.

Shark stared. There, with her arm stuck between the bars of the playset, was Iris. Shark ran over to the poor girl, who was close to tears. "Iris! What happened?"

"I- I don't know," the green-haired girl wailed. "One minute I was holding it- because I volunteered to hold the door for everyone- and the next minute it was…it was… oh, Nash, it hurts!" she burst into tears.

"Alright, take a deep breath, Iris," Nash said, trying not to panic. "Just, try not to move and I'll take a look at it, okay?"

Taking a deep, shuddering gasp, Iris nodded. Gently, Nash pressed his fingers against the swollen red flesh and searched for a place where it wasn't lodged in quite so tight. His search was in vain. Iris's arm was stuck tight.

Shark tried to think clearly through his rising panic. What could loosen something? A monkey wrench was the first thing that popped into his head. That wouldn't help. _Think, think!_ A lubricant! Yes, a lubricant was what he needed. What would be an easy lubricant to get his hands on?

"Butter!" he cried out. "I need butter! Someone get me butter from the cafeteria. Hello? Snap to it!"

"I'll get some, Shark!" a familiar voice called out. Startled, Shark turned to see Hart Tenjo dashing off towards the kitchens.

"Was that Kite's little brother?"

Iris nodded. "Yes. He's in my class. We were playing together when…" she looked down at her arm.

Shark let out a long sigh. _Kite and Rio sign them up for karate lessons,_ he thought. _They should have signed them up for lessons in common sense._

Hart, now that he was no longer affected by any diseases, was a relatively fast runner, and returned with some butter quickly. Hastily, Nash spread the butter of his hands and went to work lubricating the playset and Iris's arm.

"Okay, now pull slowly," he told the girl. Gritting her teeth, Iris pulled at her arm. Nothing happened. "Alright, a little harder," Nash instructed. Iris pulled harder, and her arm slid out smoothly. Relieved, she fell against Nash and clutched at him, crying.

"It's okay," he said, stroking her hair. "It's okay. Do you want to go home?"

Straightening, Iris shook her head. "If I leave, Hart will be all alone."

"Oh. Okay. Um, maybe you and Hart should go down to the nurse's office and get an ice pack for you, alright?"

"Sure, Nash," Iris smiled at him. "Thank you for saving me. I knew you would. See!" Iris turned towards a group of boys who were sulking. "I told you he would be able to save me!" She turned back to Nash. "After I got stuck they told me no one would be able to get me out and that the fire department would come and have to chop off my arm. I told them they were stupid boys who didn't know anything."

"Uh, good job," Nash said. "I'm going to go wash this butter off now, okay?"

"Okay."

As he walked towards the boys' bathrooms, Shark did his very best not to burst into uncontrollable laughter.


	9. Dueling, part 1

Nash, the leader of the seven Barian Emperors, sat on his throne and thought. The inter-dimensional war was coming closer and closer. He could _feel_ it. Now the question was: how to fight it? The easiest way would be to find the Numeron Code and wipe Astral World from existence. It was easier for Nash to think about destroying an entire world than he thought it would be since that world was out to destroy his people. And Nash would do anything to keep his people safe.

Of course, to find the Numeron Code, they would need the Numbers, which had not yet been released in the human world. Nash had no idea when that would happen; all he knew was that they needed to be ready for it. They needed a plan. Humans would not be able to handle the Numbers' raw power and would quickly be possessed by them, meaning that the only way to obtain them would be to duel he holders. These duels would be dangerous. The Barian Emperors could not use their powers in the human world, and possessed duelists would be ruthless. Dumon, Mizar, and Girag could handle it, of course, and Nash himself would fight, but he would prefer to keep his sister and Alito out of it. Alito was far too excitable; he might get caught up in the excitement of a duel and forget why he was even there. Or he might get bored. Of course, there was Vector… Nash had no doubts in Vector's dueling ability, but the winged Emperor was very…contrary, to say the least, and Nash could not be sure that he wouldn't betray them.

There was also the option of using humans to collect the Numbers, but Nash was not very comfortable with this idea. Humans had nothing to do with the conflict between Barian World and Astral World. Then again, it would keep the others safe and Vector out of his hair. And of course, there was the back-up plan of the Sphere Cubes. Nash had told only Dumon of their existence. Dueling in a Barian Sphere would allow them to use their Barian powers, giving them an advantage, though it would cause significant damage to the humans. But they could always recover, right?

"Your Majesty?" a timid voice pulled him out of his thoughts.

"Oh, hello, Iris," the Emperor said tiredly, holding out his hand to the small girl, encouraging her to come closer. She did so, climbing up on his throne next to him and holding onto his large hand with both of her small ones.

"Your majesty, I was wondering… Well, you and the others are always practicing your dueling skills, and I wanted to know if…" she looked hard at her feet, which were hanging in the air because she was so short, and blushed madly. "I was hoping you'd teach me how to do it, too," she said in a rush.

Nash was about to say _absolutely not_ \- he would never dream of sending her into battle _-_ but them he remembered that dueling wasn't really about war. He thought back to the early days of Barian World and how he and the other Emperors would duel to pass the time, often using it as a way to settle disputes. If Iris wanted to learn, who was he to say no?

"Alright, Iris. When do you want to start?"

"Can we start now?"

Since Nash believed experience was the main thing in being a good duelist, he found one of Marin's old decks and told Iris to try and defeat him. It was a very slow duel, since she had to stop every time she drew a card or wanted to make a play to read about the card's effect, but Nash easily defeated her.

"Iris! Are you alright?" he cried out to her, rushing to her side when she didn't immediately rise after his last attack.

"Just fine, your Majesty," Iris giggled, sitting up. "Can we do it again?"

They dueled all afternoon, with Iris getting more and more comfortable as they went on, and even dealing Nash considerable damage before he managed to beat her. After every loss, she would jump up, laughing, and ask to do again.

Her happiness was infectious. Soon, Nash's worry lines had disappeared, and he was laughing too, every time Iris slapped her forehead at a poorly played card and said, "Well, that was silly, wasn't it, your Majesty?" He didn't know it, but this was exactly what Iris had been hoping for when she had first approached him, seeing the tired and worn out look on his face and wishing she could do something about it.

They had just finished their twentieth duel, and this time Iris was helping Nash to his feet, laughing at his griping about being an old man, when they heard applause from nearby. Startled, the girl and the Emperor turned to see the other emperors (all except Vector, who was off who knows where) standing on the sidelines and watching them.

"That was an awesome duel!" Alito cheered, pumping his fist in the air.

"When did you guys get here?" Nash asked crossly.

"I had no idea you were such a brilliant teacher, dear brother," Marin said teasingly, ignoring his question.

"Whatever," Nash mumbled. Iris giggled at his embarrassment.

Several days later, Nash called Iris into his personal chambers, holding something behind his back. "Iris, now that you've started to show an interest in dueling, I've decided to give this to you," he said when she arrived." He took the card out from behind his back and handed it to her. "I've had it in my deck for a while, but I rarely use it. I thought you could use it to start building your own deck."

Iris held the card up to the light to get a better look at it. "Mermaid Shark," she said. Then she threw her arms around the Emperor's waist and hugged him. "It's wonderful, your Majesty!" she said. "I'll cherish it always."


	10. Dueling, part 2

Nash was in his room when Marin and Iris returned home from their shopping spree that Saturday. Nash had not liked the idea of the two girls running around the mall by themselves, but Dumon had convinced him that Marin was a responsible young woman and that he couldn't keep her under lock and key forever. Nash had resented his attempts to protect his sister being called keeping her "under lock and key," but he had to admit it was sort of accurate.

Marin had convinced him that Iris needed to feel what it was like to be a girl growing up in the modern world, especially since she was continuously asking questions like "What's a bus?" and "Hart's house doesn't have a fire place. How do they keep warm in winter?" Nash had been intending to take Iris out and try to get her accustomed to this world, but something else always pulled his attention away from it. Usually it was an injury that Alito had acquired at Boxing class or the fact that Mizar had discovered rats living underneath the house. Nash wondered what on earth he had been doing down there in the first place.

He had just gotten up and headed towards his bedroom door- he hadn't immediately rushed downstairs to make sure they were alright because he didn't want to seem overbearing- when the door flew open on its own. There stood Iris, her face flushed with excitement, and some cards clutched in her hands.

"Your majesty!" she cried excitedly, her old habit of addressing him with his title coming back momentarily with her exhilaration, "Look what I bought with my allowance!" She thrust the cards at him, her smile reaching all the way up past her eyes to her forehead. "You look at those," she instructed him. "I'm going to go get my other one." She turned and dashed down the hall, disappearing as suddenly as she had appeared.

Stunned, Nash stared down at the cards in his hands. There were 16 of them, 5 traps, 5 spells, 5 monsters and one xyz monster. All of them were based around water monsters. He recognized the spell _A Legendary Ocean_ as one of the first cards he had ever owned, as well as _Mystical Space Typhoon_. One of her monsters was _Deep Sea Diva_ , level 2. Her xyz monster was _Bahamut Shark_ , rank 4, which explained her three level 4 monsters.

Soon, Iris came running back and pressed a card into Shark's hand. "I based all my choices around my first card- the one you gave me," she said. Nash stared at the card in his hand. It was Level 1, Mermaid Shark.

"I… gave this to you?"

"Yes. Don't you remember?" Iris's smile faded slowly as she studied her hero's face. "Oh. You don't."

"I- I'm sorry, Iris."

"No, that's okay. I was thinking that we could have another lesson in dueling, but now I have a better idea! We'll have a duel, a _real_ duel, and see if that helps you to remember when we dueled before."

"Iris, I-" Nash stopped when he saw the hopeful look on her face. He remembered how singing to her that one night had brought back the memory of singing to her long ago. Maybe with dueling her it would be the same. "But you can't duel with just 17 cards," he pointed out.

"Don't worry. Marin leant me part of her deck that goes well with mine when I told her about our dueling lessons."

"Dueling lessons?"

"Uh-huh. I guess you don't remember that either, but I asked you to teach me how to duel one day, back in Barian World, because you looked awfully worried and I wanted to.. .well, help you out."

Nash smiled at her. That was what Iris always wanted to do- help people out. He couldn't imagine how this duel would go, since she had had only on lesson. Maybe he should take it easy on her…

"Don't hold anything back, Nash!" she said, as though reading his thoughts. "I want you to duel me as you would anybody else."

Nash sighed. "Okay."

The duel heated up quickly, and Nash soon found that he was going to have to stay on his toes. Iris was full of surprises. She had mastered Mermaid Shark's special ability, and used it to her advantage. She had summoned her xyz monster by her second turn and dealt him 1000 points of damage.

As the duel continued, Nash found himself being outthought more than once. A duel he had originally thought would be too easy turned out to be a difficult victory.

"Iris!" He cried out as the girl landed hard on the ground. He rushed over to her in a panic. _He hadn't harmed her had he?_ "Iris! Are you alright?"

The young girl sat up, a bit bruised, but laughing and smiling just the same. "That was fun, Nash! Can we do it again?"

An enormous wave of déjà vu passed over him. Images flashed through his head as the memory of that afternoon returned to him. "Iris…"

"You remember!"

"Yes. Yes, I do. Thank you."

She smiled at him happily. "I'm glad I could help."


	11. Shopping

Clutching Nash's hand tightly, Iris looked around the fantastic place known as "The Mall" in amazement. She had been here several times with Marin, but it never ceased to amaze her- the stores of fine things, the hustle and bustle, the moving stairs called escalators. Marin had said that having a shopping spree at the mall should be a part of every girl's growing up.. Iris had asked her if it was a rite of passage, but she'd been told that it was more like a privilege. "If you prove you can handle a little bit of shopping well, you'll be allowed to have more and more time and money to spend," had been Marin's exact words. Nash had modified them a bit.

Today, however, Nash and Iris were not shopping for pleasure. Indeed, Nash did not find shopping an enjoyable experience. "Tedious," he called it. Marin always rolled her eyes when he said that, explaining to Iris that sometimes men just didn't understand a good thing when they saw it. Although Iris worshipped Nash, she had to agree with his younger sister on that one. Iris found shopping to be an absolute adventure.

Today, Nash was shopping for something to give his twin for their birthday, which was coming up that weekend. When Iris had first heard about it, she had had to ask what a birthday was. Fortunately this time she wasn't the only one. None of the other ex-Barians knew either. Marin had happily explained it to them, and having grasped the concept, her adopted family had responded enthusiastically.

This year, on June 5, Nash and Marin would finally turn 15, because Don Thousand's curse was broken. Iris didn't know much about this either and no one had seemed very eager to explain to her, but in a nutshell it meant that Nash and Marin could not have aged another year as long as Don Thousand was still around. Though they had been Barians for hundreds of human years, the Emperors had appeared on earth in the form they had been in at their last hour of human life. Now that Don Thousand was gone, they could begin to age again.

Upon hearing about all the festivities that a birthday entailed, especially the giving and receiving of presents, everyone had been eager to take part in the fun (even Mizar, who said he was too mature for such things). They were particularly anxious about doing something nice for Nash on his special day, because he hadn't been able to celebrate properly in so long. Of course, it was Marin's special day, too (Iris had learned that this was why they were called twins), but she had insisted on devoting the day mostly to her brother. She had told them that his last birthday had been particularly miserable because he was stressed about the Nationals and she had been in the hospital, unconscious and unable to support him.

Naturally the others had wanted to know more about that, but she had brushed it off, labeling it as "unimportant."

Now, Iris smiled secretly to herself as she thought about Nash's surprise party… and the gift they had all chipped in to get him. It had been fun- as well as difficult- to keep a secret from Nash for so long. A lot of his friends, like Yuma, the Arclights, and the Tenjo brothers, had pitched in to keep the preparations under cover. None of them knew about the gift, though. That was going to be a surprise for everyone except Nash's family members.

She turned her attention back to the myriad of stores that surrounded her. Nash wanted to get his sister something really nice this year because a) he could afford it, and b) she had been unconscious in the hospital on her last birthday. However, when he had come to talk to her late last night, he had admitted that he knew very little about women's tastes, and that it would be a great comfort to him if she would come along and help him out. Naturally Iris was nervous that she wouldn't be able to help him, but she was determined to do her best.

Nash took her to a very fancy store with a great deal of jewelry, clothing, shoes, accessories, and bottles of different colored liquids. Iris looked up at her brother and was surprised to see him hovering hesitantly in the doorway.

"What's wrong, Nash?" she asked, her young brow furrowing in concern.

"I've never really… I mean, I've never shopped in a place like this before."

Iris was dumbfounded. Nash was an _Emperor._ He was used to all sorts of fine things. How could he be nervous just because the store was fancy? Or maybe, Iris thought, it was because it was obviously a _woman's_ store. Yes, that must be it.

"Don't worry, your majesty," Iris said, reminding him of his status, "If anyone asks, we'll just explain that it's for your sister, not for you."

Startled, Nash looked down at his young companion. Then he laughed. "Of course, Iris," he said. "I wonder why I didn't think of that."

Nash took her around the different aisles, telling her to point out anything she saw that might fit Marin's preferences. Iris saw lots of things that Marin would look pretty in- a lovely blue dress, delicate silver sandals, a fashionable sun hat- but she distinctly remembered the older girl explaining about clothing sizes, and how confusing it had been, and decided that Nash did need confusion added on top of uncertainty. Besides, a man giving his sister a hat or a pair of shoes for her birthday didn't seem… _right_ somehow.

After deciding that clothing wasn't the answer, Iris looked further into the store and found shelves upon shelves stacked with many fancy bottles, all filled with what looked like fruit juice. "Why are they selling juice at a fancy store like this?" she asked Nash, perplexed.

"What? Oh, Iris, that's not juice; that's perfume. Women like to dab it on their wrists and neck to make themselves smell good."

"Well, we can't get her that either, then," Iris said decisively.

"We can't?"

"Of course not! You don't want it to look like you think your sister smells bad, do you?"

Nash opened his mouth to explain that wasn't exactly what perfume was used for, but then decided better of it. Hadn't he just _said_ that that was what it was for? He couldn't imagine his twin wearing the stuff anyway. "You're right," he said finally. "Let's look somewhere else."

After examining purses, tote bags, sunglasses, nail polish, and gemstone-studded collars and leashes (which Iris learned were for women's dogs, not for themselves), the two shoppers came across the jewelry section.

Iris knew at once that this was the perfect thing to get for Marin. It showed Nash's devotion to his sister, and as long as it wasn't gaudy, there was no chance that she wouldn't look fantastic in it.

"This is it," Iris told Nash as they looked at the sparkling decorations. "All we have to do is find one that fits her. I think blue and silver would be best."

Now the two of them were presented with a different problem- there was a _lot_ of blue and silver jewelry. Iris searched through necklaces, bracelets, earrings, and rings. Remembering the plain silver band that all of them wore (Marin had gone out and found some more of them when her family had expanded) she decided a ring wasn't the best idea, and she had never seen Marin wear earrings- perhaps her ears weren't pierced. But then again, maybe they were, and she just didn't have any earrings to wear. Maybe a special ring that marked her as the leading female in the house would be perfect. What to do, what to do?

Fortunately, once guided to the jewelry by his assistant, Nash knew what to look for. Soon, he presented Iris with a delicate silver chain with seven snowflakes made of diamonds dangling on it. The first two on either side were small; the next one was medium and the one in the middle was large. In the center of each snowflake was a sparkling sapphire. "What do you think?"

"Oh, Nash, it's perfect!" Iris clapped her hands. "And it has seven snowflakes! Just like there are seven Emperors!"

Nash smiled at her approval. "I almost told myself that I couldn't afford it," he said. "But then I remembered that, with the fortune I inherited from my human parents and the money flowing in from the Barian Crystal market, I could afford it ten times over!" It thrilled Iris to see Nash so happy. For the first time in a lifetime, he could get his sister a gift worthy of her.

Nash's happiness was dulled a little, however, once they approached the cashier. His anxiety returned, and he became very stiff and self-conscious. Iris wondered what it was about buying a necklace that made him so nervous- until she saw the way the lady behind the counter was looking at him.

As usual, Nash was wearing his purple jacket, maroon shirt, and black pants. It suddenly hit Iris how common place he must look in this fancy store, filled with frivolous things like liquids to make you _smell_ good. It didn't help that the shop lady was looking down her nose at him, and studying his money carefully as though she thought it might be fake.

"All of our items are trackable," she said coolly as she rang up his order. "You'll find we have one of the most sophisticated security systems in the modern world."

Iris was indignant. The woman's tone was not a "you-don't-need-to-be-worried" type; it was a "don't-bother-trying-to-rob-us" type. Right then, the ten-year old made the decision to act, however rash it might have been.

"Big brother," she called to him airily as he accepted the jewlry box, sauntering over like she had seen Nellie from _Little House on the Prairie_ do. "We need to hurry up and finish. Girag probably has the limo outside waiting for us, and you _know_ how grouchy he is when he's been kept waiting." Not giving Nash a chance to react, Iris took hold of his hand and pulled him out of the store like she imagined an impatient, spoiled rich girl might have done.

"Iris," Nash said once they were on their way out of the mall, "What you did back there was downright deceitful and devious. And-"

"And?" Iris prompted.

"And thank you so much."

 **What do you think the Kastles got Nash for his birthday? I'd love to hear your ideas!**


	12. Happy Birthday!

Iris woke up that morning and immediately knew it was special. But why? For a long moment, her mind was blank. Then she remembered. Today was the twins' birthday! Quickly she scrambled out of bed and tried to shake Jewel- who slept on a large plush rug in one of corner of her room- awake.

"It's Nash and Marin's birthday, Jewel! Time to rise and shine!" 'Rise and shine' was a phrase Iris's teacher had introduced to her, and she loved using it. The white tiger didn't seem very interested in rising and shining yet, despite the importance of the day. She yawned, showing her gleaming white canines, stretched a bit, and then flopped right back down and went back to sleep.

Iris sighed. She would have to let Jewel sleep. If she made a great effort to rouse her, Nash might get suspicious, and Iris knew she wasn't very good at lying to him, it had felt like betrayal, almost, having to keep his surprise party a secret all this time.

Putting on a pink bathrobe over her nightgown, the young greenette skipped downstairs to the kitchen. Neither Nash nor Marin was up yet, but everyone else (minus Jewel) was wide awake. Other than Nash's surprise and all the individual gifts everyone had gotten Marin, the other ex-Barians had also planned a large breakfast. Out on the kitchen table were piles of pancakes, croissants, chocolate muffins, and fresh fruits. Chaos reigned as everyone hurried to finish preparing everything before the birthday twins woke up. Alito was busy stacking a third pyramid of pancakes, Mizar was filling pitchers with juice, Dumon was steeping a pot of tea, Girag and Ponta were folding napkins, and Ray was attempting to make every fruit cup look perfect.

"The strawberries won't stay!" he complained loudly, scowling at his uncooperative arrangement.

"Do the best you can," Dumon ordered, filling a pitcher with milk.

Too soon came the dreaded sound of footsteps on the stairs.

"Hurry!" Mizar hissed. There was a mad dash to put all the last touches on the breakfast before the table was finally ready and all the members of the extended Kastle family crouched in their hiding places.

"Stop breathing so heavily!" Alito whispered.

"What's this?" came Marin's voice from the doorway. She had planned most of the activities for the day, but the breakfast was a surprise for both of them.

"SURPRISE!" Everyone yelled, jumping up and rushing at the twins. "Happy Birthday, Nash and Marin!" Hugs were exchanged between all parties. Even Nash, though he wasn't the type, hugged everyone close to him in turn.

"I'm so excited!" Iris squealed, grabbing Nash around the waist, as far as she could reach on him.

"I'm excited too, Iris," he said, smiling and ruffling her hair.

Breakfast was perfect, despite the fact that one of Alito's pyramids came crashing down on Mizar's plate and Marin had the nasty experience of discovering that Dumon had accidently mixed both coffee and tea into one pot. Nash, who would usually have been exasperated with such incidents, couldn't stop laughing, and everyone else soon joined in. Jewel eventually wandered in while all of them were in hysterics, eating up the pancakes that had fallen to the floor.

"By the way, Nash," Marin said when she could breathe again, "Yuma and Kite are taking you out this morning so you can do whatever you want, on them, as their birthday gift to you."

"Oh," Nash said, looking wary. Iris burst into a fit of coughing, trying to cover up her laughter. Of course, the real reason Yuma and Kite were "taking Nash out" was to get him out of the house while everyone else set up the surprise party.

The two boys arrived a little late, with Yuma complaining that he hadn't had enough time to finish breakfast and Kite looking ready to jump in the river. Hart was with them, too- he was going to stay at the house with Iris and the others.

"Kite looks way too stiff," Iris whispered to her friend.

"He's trying not to strangle Yuma," Hart whispered back. The two of them burst into giggles.

As soon as the three friends were out the door- Yuma wolfing down some extra muffins that Marin had shoved at him in frustration- the former Barians and Hart got to work. The decorations that had been hidden all over the place for weeks were dragged out and unpacked. Soon, streamers and banners hung from every doorway. Balloons filled every room. The kitchen had been transformed into a snack buffet.

When all that was done, the boys trooped outside to put the finishing touches on half of Nash's gift and Marin sent Iris, Hart, and Jewel upstairs to make themselves look presentable. Marin stayed downstairs, waiting for the delivery of the second half of Nash's birthday present.

Iris had picked out a ruffled pink dress for the occasion, along with a pair of delicate, snow-white sandals. Hart wore a blue collared shirt, short brown pants, and loafers for shoes. Even Jewel got to dress up a little- Iris had ordered a gold collar decorated with amethysts and engraved with her name, _Jewel Kastle._

"What do you think Shark will say when you guys give him your gift?" Hart asked

"I don't think he'll say anything," Iris said, scratching Jewel behind the ears. "I think he'll be too moved to speak." The two of them stood at Iris's window, which looked out at the Kastles' enormous backyard, where half of Nash's gift stood. Alito and Girag had spent the most time on it, claiming that they were building a clubhouse for themselves. They had made it a point to keep everyone out of it, saying that no one could come in until they were finished. As long as they paid for it and finished it, Nash had said, it was fine with him. He had never guessed what was really going on.

While they watched, Marin came out into the yard, leading the second half of the surprise behind her. "There he is, Hart!" Iris exclaimed. "Isn't he a beauty? The closest we could find to Nash's old one."

The next half hour sped by. The others all had to shower, to get the smell of sawdust paint off of them, and in the meantime, guests started to arrive, piling presents on the designated tables and finding hiding spots. Everyone was coming- Yuma's family, Kite's family, Quattro and his family, Nistro, Dextra, Tori, Caswell, Bronk, Flip, and Cathy, as well as Mr. Kay.

Then, from his perch by the window, Hart shouted, "They're coming!"

"When the three boys entered, Shark and Kite were arguing about who was to blame for something and Yuma was guzzling a milkshake.

"Typical," Tori groaned.

"SURPRISE!" For the second time, people jumped out of their hiding places and ran to congratulate Shark on being 15. The party took a while to get going, since Shark wasn't exactly the partying type, but Yuma more than made up for that, and Iris made sure to stick my Nash's side so he wouldn't feel alone. Jewel didn't like all the strange people in the house and retreated off to a private room.

Then it was time for presents. The guests went first- both Shark and Rio got dueling cards from Yuma, naturally. Nistro presented them with autographed pictures of himself in his Nistromo costume, but Dextra made up for that by giving them gift cards to a great restaurant in Spartan City.

Then it was time for the other Emperors' gifts to the twins. Marin got an inflatable pool bed from Alito, a wreath of fake blue and white flowers and a bouquet of real ones from Girag and Ponta, a painting of a majestic unicorn inn a snowy background from Mizar (his art lessons were paying off) a nose ring from Ray (She laughed at that one) a blue journal from Dumon (To write down your thoughts in, he said) and the snowflake necklace from Nash and Iris.

"Oh, Nash," She gasped, holding up the necklace so it gleamed in the light, "It's beautiful!"

"It's not just from me," he said. "Iris was the one who convinced me to buy you a necklace."

"Thank you, both of you," Marin said, her eyes shining. "I will cherish it always." She put it around her neck right then and went to look at in the mirror.

"Isn't it time for Shark's presents now?" Yuma asked when she returned. HE had noticed a serious lack of boxes now that Rio was finished.

"That's right!" Alito said jumping up. "Let's take him outside and show him!"

"He needs the blindfold first," Ray said, pulling the black scarf out from behind the couch cushion where he'd hidden it. Led by Marin on one side and Dumon on the other, a blindfolded Nash stepped out into the backyard, followed by his curious guests. There were gasps of surprise as they saw what awaited him. Marin pulled off the blindfold.

"Happy Birthday, brother," she said proudly. "From all of us."

Nash stared. In his backyard there stood a stable, solidly built, and next to it, tied to a post that Girag had said was going to hold a mail box, there stood a magnificent black horse.

"He's a stallion," Iris said excitedly. The stallion was strong and muscular with a fine head and a sleek coat. He was just like Nash's old horse, the one he had rode into battle against Vector, the one Iris herself had ridden all that time ago.

"You… bought this… for me?" Nash asked slowly.

"That's right," Marin beamed. All of them were beaming.

"Rio, how could you do something that harebrained?" Nash demanded, whirling on his twin. "Do you have any idea what it costs to keep one of these things? What am I going to do with him? I don't know how to ride a horse, and it's not like I have a buggy or something to harness him to!"

Rio laughed. "Oh, come on, Reginald. You can ride him for recreational purposes. What do you mean, you don't know how? You used to ride a horse all the time. And of course, we know what it costs to keep one. That's why we set up an account for you, compounded annually." She handed him the account number. "Now go over there and say hi," she said, pushing him towards the stallion. "You don't want to hurt his feelings."

"She's right, Nash," Dumon spoke up. "Horses are very sensitive. Besides, you used to love riding for fun, back before the war."

"That was a long time ago," Nash muttered. Slowly, he approached the stallion, who watched him with sparkling black eyes. Following his instinct, Nash slowly put out his hand and allowed the stallion to sniff him. "Hey, boy," Nash murmured. "What do you think? Can we be friends?" The horse stepped closer to him, stretching out his neck to snuffle his face and hair. Then, he nickered, and sidled right up to Nash, encouraging the gentle stroking on his neck.

"He likes you, your majesty!" Iris called to him.

The horse whinnied, as if in conformation.

"I knew he hadn't lost his way with horses," Dumon said.

"Shark's good with horses?" Yuma asked, his mouth full of Twizlers.

Dumon nodded. "Yes. Nash was one of the few people other than me whom Mach would let near him."

"What are you going to call him, brother?" Rio asked. "We can't go around calling him Black Stallion. That name's taken."

"I'm going to call him Black Ray Lancer," Shark said decisively. "Lancer for short."


	13. Guitar Lessons

Iris lay awake in her bed and listened to the strange sound wafting up through her floorboards. It was the sixth night in a row she had heard the sounds, and she was more curious than ever about what they were. She had heard similar noises before, somewhere, _sometime_ that she couldn't remember. They weren't scary sounds; rather they were soothing. Finally she couldn't stand it anymore.

She slipped out of bed and put on her pink bathrobe and slippers. The slippers were so thick she didn't make a sound as she sneaked down the hall and down the stairs. She was so sure she wasn't making any noise that she whirled around to find out what the strange clacking noise was behind her when she reached the hard wood floors.

"Jewel!" Iris hissed, realizing the sound must have been Jewel's claws. How had that tiger heard her get up? She knew that cats had great hearing, but she had never known it to be so exasperating. "Go back to bed!" The large cat purred and rubbed up against her, as if to say _can't I come along?_ Jewel was so big now that she almost knocked Iris over as she snuggled against her. "Oh, alright," Iris sighed. "But be quiet!"

The two snoops followed the strange sounds down the winding staircase to the basement, which had been turned into Nash's personal office and relaxing space. "He likes to be alone, away from all the chaos sometimes," Marin had explained. To Iris's surprise, it was Nash who was making the noise, by strumming a large instrument sitting on his lap.

However quiet Iris and Jewel had been, Nash had an uncanny sixth sense that alerted him to things, and he immediately turned towards them as they appeared on the staircase. "Iris! You should be in bed," he said sternly, standing up and trying to inconspicuously hide the instrument behind him. He failed miserably.

"I know, but…I wanted to find out what those noises were." She could have sworn that for a brief second Nash turned red.

"Oh…well, I'm sorry I woke you. It's time for both of us to go to bed." He turned around and made as if to put the large instrument away.

"What is it?"

"What?"

"The instrument."

"Oh. This? It's my old guitar. I've been practicing…to see if I could still play it." If Iris hadn't known better, she would have thought Nash was embarrassed.

"I think you do."

"What?" Iris wondered if she was speaking loud enough

"I think you can play it. I think you can play it beautifully."

"Thanks, Iris, but now it's time for bed."

"Will you teach me?"

"Teach you what?"

"To play it!"

"Uh…" Nash wasn't sure what to say. It had been years since he had picked up the old guitar- the one his father had given him and promised to teach him to play one day. Of course, Ralph Kastle had died before he ever got the chance. And Nash wasn't his real son, anyway. He'd taught himself to play in memory of his "dad" and kept his practicing even from Rio…as long as he could, anyway.

Nash could never resist Iris, though; he told her to come back tomorrow at seven pm and he would start to teach her about the strings and some chords and stuff. He did ask her to keep in a secret from the others, though. He didn't want them all asking him for lessons, and he didn't feel as comfortable with a guitar as he did with a duel deck.

Rio had tried singing and some instruments, since she had just entered the "I-have-to-do-everything-my-brother-does" phase when she'd learned about his playing, but it soon came out that she had little to no musical talent, and so she'd moved on to sports. Iris, however, took to the guitar immediately. Her light fingers strummed the strings gracefully as she played, encouraging Nash to teach her more and more.

Iris would sometimes tell him about an instrument she remembered similar to a guitar, but she couldn't remember what it was called. After researching it, Nash said it was probably a lyre and showed her a picture. Iris said she couldn't be sure, but if Nash thought it was true, than she believed him. Nash told her one day about Scarlett Starling, and how her original bass guitarist had gotten sick, and how he had ended up filling in, playing a bass guitar for the first time in his life, simply because in a moment of surprise he had said "Um, sort of," when asked if he played. Apparently, big singing stars were not the type to be deterred when they got an idea in their head.

"But you can't tell Girag, okay?" Iris nodded, giggling. They all knew how much Girag liked Scarlett's music.

They had been studying together for over two months when Iris came running down to Nash's office, flushed with excitement. "Nash, I just had a great idea!" she said, panting.

"Oh? What kind of great idea?"

"I know what we can give Alito for his birthday!"

After Nash and Marin's birthday, and the new addition of Black Ray Lancer, Nash had insisted that the other members of his family choose birthdays as well. Alito had chosen August 17 at random, and his birthday was now coming up next week.

"We can play a song! A duet! We'll play it as his party and show everyone what we've been working on!"

Nash stared at her. Prepare a duet? In a week? Well, a week and two days, since they were having the big party on a Saturday, but still! "I… I don't know, Iris. It's an awful lot of work…"

"I'll try hard, I promise! And if we don't make it great before the party, we don't _have_ to perform."

Her reasoning was so logical that Nash wondered if she'd taken a course on it in school, or if she'd anticipated his hesitation. Of course, he could not say no to her request to try and learn a duet. They chose a funny one, _9 to 5,_ with side comments in it that were sure to make Alito laugh. _9 to 5_ had a simple guitar part, and the background beat and harmonica harmony was easy to find on a separate track.

Alito opened everyone else's presents first, most of it boxing equipment. When no one made a move to do anything else, he said, "Oh, come on, Nash, Iris…don't keep me in suspense!"

"Oh! That's right," Nash said, as though he'd forgotten, "We have something to show Alito, don't we, Iris?" Iris nodded, holding her sides in silent laughter. Everyone was surprised when the two of them brought out their guitars and sound equipment.

"Nash, what's this?" Marin asked with raised eyebrows.

"Nash and I have been preparing a song that we're going to sing to you," Iris said, practically bouncing with excitement.

"Cool!" Alito exclaimed, even though he didn't know what half the stuff was.

"You mean you're going to sing like Scarlett Starling?" Girag asked, eyes wide. Ponta rolled his eyes at his partner's enthusiasm.

"Um, not exactly like her, but…the same idea," Nash told him. He and Iris tuned up and began to play:

 **Nash:** Man, I tell ya, sometimes being a business man is a long, hard grind.

 **Iris:** Oh, you've got that right boss.

 **Nash:** Makes me kind of wish I'd grown up to be a cowboy.

 _Tumble out of bed, and I stumble to the kitchen,_

 _Pour myself a cup of ambition_

 _And yawn and stretch and try to come to life._

 **Iris:** Help me, Mr. Coffee!

 **Nash:** _Jump in the shower, and the blood starts pumping,_

 _Out on the street the traffic starts jumping,_

 _With folks like me on the job from nine to five._

 _Workin' nine to five, what a way to make a livin'_

 _Barely getting' by, it's all takin' and no givin'_

 _They just use your mind and they never give you credit,_

 _It's enough to drive you crazy if you let it!_

 **Nash and Iris:** _Nine to five!_

 **Iris:** _For service and devotion,_

 _You would think that I would deserve a fair promotion_

 _Want to move ahead, but the boss won't seem to let me,_

 _I think sometimes that man is out to get me!_

 **Nash:** Wait, I'm your boss.

 **Iris:** Did I say that out loud?

 **Nash:** I know what you mean.

 _They let you dream just to watch you shatter,_

 _You're just a step on the boss man's ladder,_

 _But you've got dreams he'll never take away._

 **Iris:** _You're in the same boat with a lot of your friends,_

 _Waiting for the day your ship'll come in_

 _And the tide's gonna turn and it's all gonna turn your way._

 **Nash and Iris:** _Workin' nine to five, what a way to make a livin'_

 _Barely getting' by, it's all takin' and no givin'_

 _They just use your mind and they never give you credit,_

 _It's enough to drive you crazy if you let it!_

 _Nine to five!_

 _For service and devotion,_

 _You would think that I would deserve a fair promotion_

 _Want to move ahead, but the boss won't seem to let me,_

 _I think sometimes that man is out to get me!_

 _Nine to Five!_

 **Nash:** Oh, I know he's out to get me! I knew I didn't like him, from the first moment I saw him I said that guy is out to get me!

 **Iris:** I don't know what you're talking about.

 **Nash:** You know exactly what I'm talking about: that beady little look in his eye.

 **Iris:** I thought you were the boss.

 **Nash:** Oh, yeah. I don't even know what I'm talking about.

 **Iris:** You're talking about you! I should be the one complaining about you. I'm the worker bee, you're the queen bee! I'm oppressed!

 **Nash:** Oh, yeah. What am I complaining about?

 **Iris:** I don't know, did you lose your key to the executive washroom?

 **Nash and Iris:** _Nine to Five!_

 **Iris:** I'm the one who's under your thumb! The little guy who's doing the real work in this crazy, mixed-up world!

 **Nash:** Are you feeling alright? I think you need to sing a different song.

 **Nash and Iris:** _Nine to Five!_

Alito had collapsed on the floor in laughter. "Key…to the…executive washroom!" he gasped.

 **I don't own the song or the side conversation. To hear this incredibly funny version of this and other famous country hits, search Bob and Larry Go Country in YouTube.**


	14. Elilogue

**Sorry about the wait, but I've been busy with my** _ **A Tale of Two Slaves**_ **series. I couldn't just let Iris go without closure, though, so here it is! Please read and review, because this is it.**

The next June.

Iris Kastle sat on the window seat at the front of the Kastle mansion, looking out the window eagerly for the greatest even of the year. Jewel was beside her, flopped on the floor. The White Bengal Tiger had grown a great deal; she came almost to Iris's chin and spent most of her time napping. Although, being a Tiger, she enjoyed water and would often go swimming with Iris in the indoor pool Nash had given to Iris on her eleventh birthday.

Nash. Nash was finally coming home. After he had stopped cutting classes and started actually trying in school, the leader of the Kastles family had rapidly achieved all of the requirements to graduate, and more. After that, there had been talk of college and careers. This had confused Iris. Nash's job would always be to watch out for all of them. What did he need a career for? Not for the money, that was for sure. Nash had inherited the entire Kastle fortune, and the crystals salvaged from Barian World were worth quite a bit on the jewelry market, since there was no competition.

Nash had had to explain to her how, though they would always need him to be there for them, they would soon be grown up with their own lives and wouldn't need him as much. Alito would be a professional boxer and wrestler; Girag was looking into being a vet; Mizar was writing a book about Dragons (he had found very few satisfying resources when he had been writing a paper for school, and therefore had decide to write one of his own); Dumon was interested in an equestrian career, especially jumping; it looked like Marin was going to be a professional duelist; and Ray was going into, as he put it, "show biz." Iris herself didn't have a career in mind yet, but she figured she would do something with music. She had gotten very good on the guitar and had also picked up the piano.

Nash had also said that the wealthy and charitable young man was not a roll he could stand to play very long. He and Quattro had worked hard to make living conditions for orphans much better. Both boys had suffered abuse in such institutions. Quattro was the face of the movement, using his fame to spread the word. Nash had handled the finances, paying for many of the changes that were needed. He had also used his money and his royal title to get crooked orphanage managers fired and, several times, arrested. People were much more likely to listen to you if you said you were an Emperor.

Everyone was proud of the work Nash was doing, but it wasn't enough for him. He wanted to be active, going out and taking down the bad guys like he had done in all three of his pasts. He had received several scholarships to excellent schools, either because of his royal title or his grades, but he turned them all down. Then, an offer had arrived from the Blackthorne Institute.* It had mentioned nothing about their curriculum, their professors, why you should attend the school, _not even their location._ There hadn't even been any pictures. All it had said was that, if Nash was interested in a rewarding career, he should come to visit. Someone would come pick him up if he called the number on the brochure.

Intrigued, Nash had taken Blackthorne up on their offer. Then, after visiting, he had enrolled. It was a boarding school, so he'd been gone all year. When asked what he studied in letters (phone calls weren't allowed, it seemed), he said that they were normal classes, just on an extreme level. Many of his friend and family were confused about why the school was so secretive, but Nash seemed to enjoy the challenges it gave him, so they didn't bother him about it.

Now, though, it was summer again, and Nash was coming home! He'd come home for holidays, but it had never been enough, with all the things he had to do and all the people he had to see. But this time would be different. This time, it was summer, and Nash would be home for all of it. Iris was anxious to show him all the songs she had learned on the piano and guitar. She was glad that Nash would be gone the whole year next time. The headmaster had been impressed with how fast Shark learned, and said he would only need to attend certain courses in the coming year.

Suddenly, Jewel's ears pricked up and she raised her head. Iris strained to see further down the street. Jewel only did that with strange sounds…or familiar sounds she hadn't heard in a while. And…yes! It was Nash's motorbike coming down the road, slowing down, turning into the driveway…

"He's home! He's home! His majesty is home!" Iris cried, rushing out to meet her hero and her brother, clutching her shark tooth locket to keep it from flying up and hitting her in the face.

 **The End**

* * *

 ***If you want to find out about the Blackthorne Institute, check out Ally Carter's awesome** _ **Gallagher Girl**_ **series.**


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